Autonomy and parenting

Sims will only ever do the basics for their children. You will have to direct them to do things like teaching potty training.

They do learn to prefer the activities you direct them to do more often.

"DaniRose2143;d-1000778" wrote:
I'm really new to playing with autonomy on and allowing my sims to direct their lives with as little input from me as possible. In my werewolf save, mom Ava and dad Lou are not exactly parent of the year material. I was hoping they'd come around and start to focus more on little Evie, but she's kind of raising herself.

If I were to take over again for a short time and click through the parenting interactions would they learn to do those on their own the way they do with fun things like playing on the computer or their phones, or even painting. They're good at keeping her fed, they will put her to bed and tuck her in, but they won't potty train her, they just clean and change her after she uses her diaper. I've always been a micromanager and queued all these actions for my sims so I have no idea what parenting actions they naturally do autonomously.

I play with autonomy on, too. But that doesn't mean I don't intercede when necessary. Remember, the Pause button is your friend. I can't and I won't allow the Toddlers to go hungry, run exhausted, or constantly have their attention bar in the red. It may take some doing, my parents are family-oriented, but sometimes, they get distracted — which one of us doesn't? But, if all else fails, I'll send the Tot to the Potty, so long as they're at least at level 2. I have been known to also have the older Sim open the fridge, so I can drag some food out onto the counter, and then I'll send the Tot to grab the serving.

All autonomy does, is allow for the rest of your household to continue doing stuff. (So much better than having them standing in the bathroom, staring at the wall when they really, REALLY need to use the toilet.) I use autonomy to allow me to focus on one Sim at a time, to help further their aspiration, mostly. Also, I play with a full house, so it's quite necessary.

All of this to say don't feel bound to watching only, unless that's what you prefer.

@GalacticGal I'm trying to let them tell their stories for the most part. Where this question came from was seeing the toddler in my werewolf family wandering around on the other side of Moonwood Mill while I was playing another household. I'm worried about what's going on there while I'm away. I want to teach Ava and Lou what they should be doing in those circumstances. If I'm with them and Evie needs something I will step in and make one of them come take care of her if they don't after a reasonable time

As a hardcore rotator I have seen that was tuned usually when you rotate suddenly you may come to almost full or mid needs so you won't come back to taken away child but yeah always good to save a copy just in case. Also if you collect a lot of houses if you're ever feeling unsure you can use testingcheats on the mailbox and fill the needs of the world if you'd like.

Thank you for those tips. They will come in handy, and I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable with the thought of leaving them alone while I rotate through the others.

Sure thing, I've had it since launch and certain areas have gotten so much better now that I'll often pipe up if I can for others' uncertainties.

I was afraid of that. Bummer. I wanted to spend lots of time watching Judith go on rampages through DSV. I'm going to have to keep those visits to her short and sweet so I can get back to my little werewolf family.

I like to mix free will with my direction unless taking photos and I need to to stay still, I don't know if it's really coded that way but it seems like they will be more proactive where you want them to if you occasionally lead them a little. I mean it's not perfect but I notice cause I watch closely for good screenies.

"RedDestiny92;c-18136413" wrote:
I like to mix free will with my direction unless taking photos and I need to to stay still, I don't know if it's really coded that way but it seems like they will be more proactive where you want them to if you occasionally lead them a little. I mean it's not perfect but I notice cause I watch closely for good screenies.

They're great at learning all the fun distractions. I'm sure part of that is hard coded into their genetics. They do learn to clean up after meals if you click on the plate enough times. I'm hoping some of the finer points of parenting will stick that way too. I'm just worried that they're going to get careless and poor Evie will wind up in a mess and taken away while I'm gone. I'm assuming if you're not with that household and it gets that bad you're not going to receive the warning. I just don't want to spend a few days with another household and then come back to a disaster. Worst case I could save them to my library at the point I'm ready to leave them and either let them carry on or delete them, then load them back in when I'm ready to play them again. That's extra effort, but worse than that, it's a way to screw things up by accident because I forgot to save before deleting.